The Philadelphia Democrat, who was first elected to Congress in 1994 and served on the influential House Appropriations Committee, faces 29 charges, many stemming from his 2007 campaign for mayor.

The 85-page indictment accuses Fattah and four associates of devising a series of schemes to conceal how money was borrowed and repaid, falsifying documents in the process.

"As charged in the indictment, Congressman Fattah and his associates embarked on a wide-ranging conspiracy involving bribery, concealment of unlawful campaign contributions and theft of charitable and federal funds to advance their own personal interests," Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said in a statement.

Fattah told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that he and his attorney hadn't yet reviewed the indictment.

"I'll stand by my previous statement that I've never been involved in wrongdoing, any unlawful activity, any misappropriation of federal funds, and I think that there's a lot for us to digest once we see the indictment," Fattah said.

"And I want to spend my time helping millions more," he said. "I'm going to let my attorney -- a small one-man shop in Philadelphia -- handle this matter. It's obviously going to be important to my constituents that this matter not be a distraction in terms of my work, and I'm going to try to have it not be a distraction."

Photos:Politicians in hot water

Photos:Politicians in hot water

U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was convicted on federal corruption charges on Tuesday, June 21. The Philadelphia Democrat was tied to a host of campaign finance schemes, according to the Department of Justice.

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Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay $250,000 to a victims' fund in April after a hush-money case revealed he was being accused of sexually abusing young boys as a teacher in Illinois.

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Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell arrives at his corruption trial in Richmond, Virginia, in September 2015. A jury convicted McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, derailing the political ambitions of the one-time rising star in the Republican Party. McDonnell, who was sentenced to two years in prison, has asked the Supreme Court to reverse his conviction. The high court heard his challenge in April.

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U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was indicted on corruption charges in April 2015. Federal prosecutors have accused Menendez of using his Senate office to push the business interests of a friend and donor in exchange for gifts. The senator has pleaded not guilty to the charges and vehemently asserts his innocence.

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U.S. Rep. Vance McAllister asked for forgiveness from God, his family and his constituents after a newspaper published what it said was surveillance video showing the married Louisiana Republican making out with a female staffer. His term ended in 2015.

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Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and his wife, Sandra, arrive at federal court in Washington for sentencing in August 2013. Jackson, a Democrat from Illinois, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for improper use of campaign funds, while his wife got 12 months for filing false tax returns.

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In 2012, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being convicted of 18 criminal counts, including trying to sell the appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.

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Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted in 2007 of obstructing a federal investigation into who revealed the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison and fined $250,000, but former President George W. Bush commuted his sentence.

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Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2009 after being convicted of 11 counts of corruption related to using his office to solicit bribes. The Louisiana Democrat was also ordered to forfeit $470,000.

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Former U.S. Rep. Bob Ney, a Republican from Ohio, was sentenced to 30 months in prison in 2007 after being convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and making false statements to investigators.

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U.S. Rep. James Traficant Jr., D-Ohio, spent seven years in prison after being convicted of bribery and corruption and tax evasion charges in 2002.

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Former U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-California, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2006 after he was convicted of collecting $2.4 million in homes, yachts, antique furnishings and other bribes on a scale unparalleled in the history of Congress.

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The Justice Department said that during his failed 2007 campaign to be Philadelphia's mayor, Fattah borrowed $1 million from a wealthy supporter and then used an education non-profit he'd founded to repay much of that money, using charitable donations and grant funds. He then allegedly concealed the scheme through sham contracts, tax returns and campaign finance documents.

Prosecutors also said Fattah arranged to retire $130,000 in campaign debt owed to a political consultant by helping that consultant seek much more in grant funding.

Fattah, prosecutors say, also used congressional and mayoral campaign money to repay $23,000 of his son's student loan debt between 2007 and 2011.

In exchange for $18,000, disguised as a payment for a car sale that didn't actually take place, Fattah allegedly lobbied the White House and Congress for an ambassadorship or U.S. Trade Commission appointment for lobbyist Herbert Vederman.

"The public expects their elected officials to act with honesty and integrity," U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a statement. "By misusing campaign funds, misappropriating government funds, accepting bribes, and committing bank fraud, as alleged in the Indictment, Congressman Fattah and his co-conspirators have betrayed the public trust and undermined faith in government."

U.S. attorneys said Wednesday morning that Fattah was not in custody.

The indictment is a crushing blow to a two-decade congressional career in which Fattah has risen to become the ranking member of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science -- making him the top Democrat overseeing the budget of the federal agency that pursued his indictment.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, said Fattah had stepped down from that position on Wednesday, "pending the resolution of this matter."

"The charges in the indictment against Congressman Chaka Fattah are deeply saddening," Pelosi said in a statement. "Congressman Fattah has been a tireless and effective advocate for America's hard-working families across more than 20 years of distinguished service in the House."

The charges were long anticipated: In August 2014, longtime Fattah aide Gregory Naylor pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to the same $1 million loan repayment scheme from the 2007 mayoral race. Though Fattah himself wasn't named in the case, his connection to it was clear.